CS2 Collegiate Grand Final Briefing Book
NYU GAMING with ZOWIE
6 December 2025 | New York | Player and event operations edition
PURPOSE AND EVENT CONTEXT
The collegiate grand final brings together two five-player teams that have progressed through open qualifiers, a group stage and knockout competition. The final is a best-of-five Counter-Strike 2 series, with the championship awarded to the first team to win three maps. NYU GAMING organizes the event, with ZOWIE providing sponsorship and prizes. Participation is free.
This book establishes a shared operating standard for players, captains and event staff. It explains what must be ready before the first map, how the series will be administered and how decisions will be communicated when circumstances change. Captains should read it before arrival and ensure that every player understands the equipment requirements, conduct rules and restrictions on outside information. Staff should use the same procedures when recording results, resolving incidents and arranging media activity.
Check-in begins at 10:00 and the first map starts at 12:00 on 6 December 2025. All times are New York local time, Eastern Standard Time, UTC minus five hours. Room 237 is the designated match room. The event team will confirm the building and visitor access arrangements by email before arrival. General questions, equipment requests and written appeals should be directed to the event team's email.
The match room is reserved for players and staff. Spectators will watch from a separate classroom using the same delayed feed as the Bilibili broadcast. Separating the two spaces protects concentration and reduces the risk that a player receives information from the audience, commentary or stream.
How the event is managed
Ruby Liu, club president and event lead, coordinates the venue, sponsorship, schedule and significant incidents. Lucas Qiao serves as head referee and controls the briefing, veto, match start, pauses and initial rulings. Patrick Huang assists with station supervision, scorekeeping and evidence. Aron Zhang Zongshuai manages technical systems and the broadcast. Iris Shen handles player administration, consent records, interview scheduling and prize receipts.
Players should raise match questions through their captain to Lucas. Technical issues go to Aron, while eligibility and administrative questions go to Iris. Ruby coordinates matters that affect the event as a whole and arranges an independent review when a ruling is appealed. These responsibilities keep the point of contact clear without preventing anyone from reporting an urgent safety concern directly.
PREPARING TO COMPETE
Eligibility is based on enrollment on 6 December 2025. Players must be at least eighteen and enrolled at an educational institution on that date. Undergraduate, graduate and exchange students may participate, and teams may include players from different schools. Where a player is on leave or has another unusual enrollment status, a school-issued confirmation of current enrollment determines eligibility.
Captains must submit their five-player roster, aliases, Steam IDs and verification arrangements forty-eight hours before the event. The actual rosters are held by the event team rather than published in this book. No substitute places are preallocated. Any emergency change requires eligibility review and written notice to both teams before the next map; an unapproved player may not enter the server on another player's account.
Players should bring a valid student ID or enrollment confirmation and any identification required for building access. Staff will normally inspect identification without retaining a complete image. Account passwords are never part of verification. Each player must use their own Steam account and have access to any two-factor authentication needed to sign in.
Computers and peripherals
A personal CS2-capable laptop or desktop is recommended. A player without written confirmation of a loan computer must bring one. The available ROG laptops are a limited loan resource, so a request alone does not guarantee allocation. Before travel, players should update CS2 and drivers, back up their configuration and test the complete set of cables and adapters they intend to use.
Players are responsible for a keyboard, headset with microphone, power adapters and necessary connection cables. Personal mice and mousepads are permitted, subject to the same restrictions on macros and automation as loan devices. Equipment should be labelled to make return and collection straightforward. Headsets must limit venue sound sufficiently to prevent outside information reaching a player.
The monitor plan provides twelve ZOWIE XL2566X+ units: ten for player stations and two spares. Original stands are supplied; monitor arms are not. Mousepads and loan mice are allocated from checked stock. The working mouse list includes DK2DW, U2DW and EC3DW or EC2DW models, but the event team must verify the labels and quantities before confirming individual requests. A functioning station takes priority over a preference for a particular model.
The target display mode is 1920 by 1080 at 400 Hz through a compatible DisplayPort connection. Actual performance depends on the computer, cable and adapter chain, so players must verify the output rather than rely on the port name. Aron will check server access, networking and audio during setup. Captains report their team ready only when all five stations can join, communicate and play reliably.
ARRIVAL AND THE EVENT DAY
The morning schedule reserves an hour for technical preparation because personal computers and mixed peripherals require individual checks. Check-in is followed by station setup, then a captain briefing and veto. The last fifteen minutes before the start are reserved for warm-up and broadcast preparation. Players should raise unresolved issues during setup rather than wait for the first live round.
Event-day schedule (Eastern Standard Time): 10:00–10:30 — Check-in and eligibility verification 10:30–11:30 — Equipment setup and technical checks 11:30–11:45 — Captain briefing and map veto 11:45–12:00 — Warm-up and broadcast preparation 12:00 — First map live 17:00–18:00 — Estimated awards and interviews
Ten-minute breaks separate maps, except after map two, when a twenty-minute break replaces the ordinary interval. Awards, photographs and interviews are expected between 17:00 and 18:00, but they follow the actual end of the series. Overtime will not be cut short to meet an estimated presentation time. The venue plan reserves time until 19:00, subject to the venue's confirmed access period.
A captain who expects a delay should contact the event team immediately. If fewer than five players are ready fifteen minutes after the scheduled start, and no technical extension has been approved, the head referee may award a first-map loss after reviewing the circumstances. A further fifteen minutes is allowed before a series forfeit may be considered. Shared technical failures and events outside a team's control are reviewed separately from an unexplained absence.
Match room and viewing room
The match room uses a widened front teaching platform with one five-player table on each side. Players face the front of the room. Referee and production stations sit behind the playing area, leaving a clear central passage. The tiered seats remain closed to spectators. Check-in takes place near the entrance, where staff can direct players without interrupting preparation.
Power and network cables run behind tables and along the sides of the room. Venue staff must confirm electrical capacity, access points and evacuation routes before setup; the arrangement is a functional plan rather than a measured survey. Power strips must not be connected in a chain, and cables must not obstruct circulation. Spectators use a separate classroom identified by on-site signs. Its audio must not feed back into the match room.
ADMINISTERING THE SERIES
The series is played five against five on the designated CS2 server, using the same game build for both teams. There is no starting map advantage. Regulation consists of twelve-round halves, with sides exchanged at halftime. A team wins a map by reaching thirteen rounds unless the score reaches twelve each, in which case overtime begins.
Overtime uses three-round halves with starting money of $12,500. Four round wins decide an overtime set; a three-all tie starts another set. There is no drawn map. These are the event's published match settings and must be checked at the captain briefing. Material changes require written notice before play and cannot be used to penalize conduct that was previously permitted.
Selecting maps and starting sides
The seven-map event pool comprises Ancient, Dust II, Inferno, Mirage, Nuke, Overpass and Train. The head referee conducts a coin toss, whose winner chooses whether to act as Team A or Team B. Team A bans one map and Team B bans another. Team A then selects map one, Team B map two, Team A map three and Team B map four. The remaining map becomes the fifth map.
Each decision has a sixty-second limit. If a captain misses it, the referee issues a warning and allows thirty more seconds. Continued failure to choose results in a public, recorded random selection from the valid options. For the first four maps, the team that did not select the map chooses its starting side. The fifth map uses a knife round, with the winner choosing the side. Both captains check the completed veto record before it is accepted.
Only the referee may declare the match live. Captains first confirm the map, sides and server settings. Players must not restart a match, disconnect deliberately or leave the server without an instruction. Patrick records each map result, pauses, penalties and unresolved appeals so that the match record remains usable if the series is interrupted.
Pauses and technical recovery
Each team receives four thirty-second tactical pauses per map, taken during freeze time under referee control. Unused pauses remain available in overtime, but no additional pauses are granted. A technical pause is for troubleshooting only; tactical discussion requires an available tactical pause.
Players must report a fault immediately rather than unplug equipment to force a stoppage. The referee pauses at the earliest appropriate point and records the incident. A disconnection does not automatically create a right to replay a round. The head referee uses logs, backups and round progress to decide whether play continues or is restored. A round in which damage or material information has already occurred normally stands, subject to the evidence and the nature of the failure.
FAIR PLAY AND REVIEW
Every participant is responsible for preserving the competitive conditions of the final. Cheats, account substitution, cheating macros, deliberate use of prohibited exploits, collusion and intentional underperformance are prohibited. Players must not bet on the event. Staff and players should disclose a conflict that could affect an appointment, ruling or review before taking part in the decision concerned.
Players may not watch the stream, look at an opponent's screen, receive crowd cues or obtain tactical advice from outside the approved team communications. Phones must be put away during play. Staff may inspect match-related settings, processes and configurations when reasonably necessary, but the inspection must remain limited to the issue and must not demand private passwords or unrelated files.
Competitive expression must remain respectful. Threats, discrimination, sexual harassment, intimidation and personal abuse are prohibited. A player who becomes ill or injured should report it and may request an appropriate break or accessibility arrangement. A schedule delay is not a reason to require unsafe participation. Reports of cheating, harassment or safety concerns should be made privately, with available evidence preserved; retaliation is prohibited.
Rulings and sanctions
Sanctions depend on the seriousness and effect of the conduct. A minor first procedural breach may receive a reminder or warning. Repeated breaches or conduct affecting fairness may lead to a map loss. Cheating, violence or serious collusion may result in disqualification. Referees must record the facts, evidence, relevant rule and reasons for the decision. Unpublished fines and arbitrary prize deductions are not permitted.
A captain may appeal to Ruby within fifteen minutes of receiving a ruling. A verbal notification preserves the deadline where necessary, followed by an email identifying the map, round, relevant facts, requested remedy and evidence. Ruby will arrange review by someone who was not involved in the original ruling and has no conflict of interest. If immediate independent review is unavailable, the affected result may remain provisional until review can take place.
Both teams receive the written outcome and reasons for any decision to uphold, reverse or adjust the ruling. Staff must not publicly accuse a player of cheating or release sensitive evidence before the matter has been reviewed. The internal appeal process governs event administration and does not exclude remedies available under applicable law.
BROADCASTING AND MEDIA PERMISSIONS
NYU GAMING will broadcast the final on Bilibili and arrange recording, photography and interviews. The public stream and the separate viewing classroom must use a feed delayed by at least 120 seconds. Before going live, Aron checks game capture, scores, microphone levels, recording and delay. Match-room speakers remain muted, and no player-visible screen may show the broadcast.
Aron operates production while Patrick supplies confirmed map scores. If Aron must resolve a match fault, Iris can switch to the holding screen and issue a referee-approved update. An interruption affecting only the stream does not stop a functioning match or justify a replay. Local recording should continue where possible while the stream is restored. The broadcast should end only after the delayed closing coverage has cleared.
Players may not livestream, simulcast or publish live screens or match communications during warm-up, play or technical pauses without written permission. They may share public official links after publication. Re-editing, uploading or commercially using official material requires the relevant permission. Team voice recorded for officiating is not automatically cleared for public use.
The scope of consent
The event recording permission covers event-captured names, aliases, likenesses, voices, interviews and performances for coverage, replay and promotion. A separate commercial choice covers event-related sponsor publicity and paid advertising by NYU GAMING and the named sponsor, without an additional usage fee. Commercial permission is optional, is not preselected and does not affect eligibility.
The proposed permission is non-exclusive and worldwide, covering websites, Bilibili, social channels and physical materials. Commercial use lasts five years from the actual signing date, while event replays and historical archives may remain available long-term. It does not transfer all personal rights or permit misleading edits, a fabricated endorsement, an AI replica or merchandise based on a player's likeness. Such uses require a separate agreement.
The operator's full legal name and the sponsor's legal identity must be completed before the player and operator representative sign. A book, attendance record or prize receipt is not a substitute for the signed permission. The release must not be backdated or assumed to apply retrospectively. Requests concerning correction or future use go to the event email for a written response.
Production staff must check permission for every identifiable person used in sponsor advertising, including staff, commentators and interviewed spectators. A group image is not commercially cleared merely because one person has signed. Photographers' and producers' content rights must also be secured. Game, music, trademark and other third-party rights remain with their owners; a player's release cannot grant them. Ruby verifies the applicable game tournament license, campus permissions and signing authority before execution.
INTERRUPTIONS AND CONTINUITY
An extended interruption requires a decision about the event as well as a technical fix. At the start of a stoppage, the referee records the map, round, score and time, while Aron preserves valid backups. Safety incidents take priority over data recovery: players and staff must stop work and follow venue instructions. For an immediate emergency, call 911 and alert staff; the event email is not an emergency service.
If the issue remains unresolved after fifteen minutes, Ruby reviews spare equipment, an alternative server and the remaining venue time. Captains receive updates at fifteen-minute intervals. After thirty minutes without a safe recovery path, or when the venue period no longer permits completion, Ruby decides whether to postpone. No match may continue beyond the venue's authorized hours.
Preserving the competitive position
Completed maps retain their confirmed results. An unfinished map resumes from a valid backup where possible. If restoration is impossible, only that map is replayed, keeping the selected map, original starting-side choice and other series results. The referee records why restoration could not be used. Both teams receive equal warm-up before the restart.
The event team confirms a postponement by email that day. Within twenty-four hours, it provides a proposed restart arrangement or states when the next update will be issued. A confirmed restart should normally be communicated at least twenty-four hours in advance after both teams' availability has been checked. The original rosters and game build should be retained where possible; any necessary change is communicated to both teams.
If no workable restart can be arranged, an incomplete series does not establish a champion. Ruby will set out the cancellation and proposed prize arrangements in writing, seek both teams' views and confirm the outcome. A cancellation record should distinguish completed competitive results from the administrative decision about an unfinished event.
AWARDS AND CLOSEOUT
Each of the five champion players receives one ZOWIE monitor, and each of the five runner-up players receives one ZOWIE mousepad. The event team confirms the exact prize models in writing before collection. Prize stock is managed separately from match equipment, and loan devices must not be taken as prizes without a documented allocation.
Iris verifies recipients and records the item, quantity and date of receipt. If delivery must be delayed or shipped, the method and timing are confirmed in writing. Applicable tax treatment must be checked rather than assumed to be exempt. Where an unresolved appeal affects an award, the team explains any hold and provides review updates.
Interviews and photographs follow the actual finish and allow necessary rest. Players may decline questions unrelated to the competition and are not required to recommend a sponsor's products. After media activity, they return borrowed equipment, sign out of accounts, remove personal credentials and collect their belongings. Staff reconcile asset numbers and accessories before closing the room.
Records and privacy
The event team collects only the information needed for eligibility, contact, administration and dispute handling. Routine contact and verification records are deleted after ninety days. Dispute evidence remains until the matter is resolved. Consent evidence is retained while the associated material continues to be used, with deletion reviewed one year after that use ends.
Published information is limited to necessary names or aliases, teams, results and authorized media. Student numbers, identity documents, private contact details and private messages must not appear in public material. Staff retain a common record of final scores, incidents, postponement notices and prize delivery so that follow-up questions can be answered consistently through the event team's email.
The event is complete when the result has been confirmed, outstanding decisions have an identified owner, equipment has been reconciled and the relevant recordings and records are safely retained. This closeout gives players a clear end to their obligations and gives the event team a reliable account of the decisions made throughout the day.